COVID-19-associated mucormycosis: A review of an emergent epidemic fungal infection in the era of COVID-19 pandemic.

At a time when the COVID-19's second wave is still picking up in countries like India, a number of reports describe the potential association with a rise in the number of cases of mucormycosis, commonly known as the black fungus. This fungal infection has been around for centuries and affects those people whose immunity has been compromised due to severe health conditions. In this article, we provide a detailed overview of mucormycosis and discuss how COVID-19 could have caused a sudden spike in an otherwise rare disease in countries like India. The article discusses the various symptoms of the disease, class of people most vulnerable to this infection, preventive measures to avoid the disease, and various treatments that exist in clinical practice and research to manage the disease.

Adverse cutaneous drug reactions: Eight year assessment in hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND: Adverse cutaneous drug reactions (ACDRs) are the most commonly reported adverse drug events. The causative drugs and clinical patterns of ACDRs are different in various populations. This study was conducted to identify the clinical patterns, causative drugs and reasons for drug administration in patients hospitalized due to ACDR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was carried out in a referral university hospital, Isfahan, Iran. The medical records of all patients who were hospitalized in the Dermatology Department due to ACDRs were reviewed covering an 8-year period between December 2006 and August 2013. RESULTS: A total number of 282 patients with the mean age of 29.48 ± 21.18 years were hospitalized in this time period, of which 61% were females. The most common clinical patterns regarding the final diagnosis were Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) (32%), exanthematous drug eruptions (24.5%) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) (11%). Anticonvulsants were the most frequently implicated drug group (51.8%) followed by antibiotics (33.7%) and analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (5.7%). The most common cause of drug administration was seizure (30%) and then upper respiratory tract infections (12%). The frequency distribution of clinical types of reactions was different between age groups (P < 0.001). The severe types (SJS, TEN, drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms and overlap syndrome) were more frequent in the patients aged ≤50 years old (55.2%) compare to those aged ≤50 years (28%) (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The main causative drugs of ACDRs were anticonvulsants and antibiotics. However, the sever types of reactions were more prevalent.